Changeable exhibitor



March 21, 1939. J. ROBIN 2,151,333

CHANGEABLE EXHIBITOR Filed Oct. 19, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet l ZhwentorJx-yc05' I, ROB/N Gttomeg March 21, 1939. I J oam I 2,151,333

' CHANGEABLE EXHIBITOR Filed Oct. 19, 1957 s Sheets-Sheet 2 3nventorJecoz Z. Ros/N (Ittorneg March 21, 1939.

J. I. ROBIN CHANGEABLE EXHIBITOR Filed Oct. 19, 1937 s Sheets-Sheet 3 3mentor Gttorneg Patented Mar. 21, 1939 PATENT oFFIeE CHAN GEABLEEXHIBITOR Jacob I. Robin, New York, N. Y.,'assignor, by

mesne assignments, to International Mutoscope Reel Co. Inc., New York,N. Y.

Application October 19,

15 Claims.

The present invention relates to changeable exhibitors'and moreparticularly to illuminated rotary exhibitors operable by currents ofair inducedbyheat, usually that generated by the illumination means.

In exhibitors of the type with which the present invention is primarilyconcerned the rotary element is usually in the form of a hollow cylindersuspended over the heating and illuminating means, such as an electriclamp, on a bearing positioned'above said lamp, and said cylinder isprovided withvanes upon which the air currents impinge for rotating thecylinder. One object of theinvention is to direct the flow of aircurrents in such manner as to distribute the air as completely aspossible over the vane surfaces substantially for the full length andwidth thereof whereby to improve the motive efficiency of the apparatus.

A further object is to provide means for obtaining an even flow of airwhereby to obtain an improved and more reliable operation of thecylinder or other rotary element and to substantially reducefluctuations in the speed of rotation of I the latter.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an. improved bearingfor the rotary element of the exhibitor.

utilized in the same frame and to provide for shipping of the cylinderforming parts of the rotary elements in flat form and capable of beingreadily formed into cylinders and assembled I with their companion vanedisks.

Another object of the invention is to provide inconjunction with therotary exhibitor, or separately, an electric flasher comprisingconstantly illuminated electrical light and mechanical means such as arotary cylinder in the form of a shutter having light passagesforalternately and periodioally concealing and exposing the light from saidlamp.

'A yet further object of the invention is generally to improve theartrelating to rotary exhibitors of the-type referred to and to providean s end thereof below openings 26.

1937, Serial No. 169,781

attractive exhibitor which is simple in construction and reliable andefiicient in operation.

The above objects of the invention and other objects ancillary theretowill be fully understood from the following description and theaccompanying illustrations of a preferred embodiment of the invention,reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a changeable exhibitor embodying thepresent invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side view in elevations of the exhibitor with the casing orcover removed;

Fig. 3a is a perspective view of the frame;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a part of the device detached from theframe;

Fig. 5 is a top plan view of the part illustrated in Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the rotary member;

Fig. 7 is a sectional view on the line 'i-l of Fig. 6;

, Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a rear plan view of the cylinder forming element in flatcondition;

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on the line Ill-4O of Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary view in elevation on the line lI-Il of Fig. 10.

Referring now to the drawings in greater detail, the changeableexhibitor It as illustrated in Fig. 1 is in the form of a fancifulsimulation of a lighthouse tower but may be embodied in other forms andmay otherwise be of different appear ance. Said tower comprises a sheetmetal casing 12 open at its bottom and at its top and provided at saidtop with a cover l4 simulating the roof of the tower. Said cover I4 isremovably supported on the top edge of easing E2 in spaced relationtosaid edge by a plurality of, here shown as three, short rods I6 forspacing said cover from the upper edge of easing l2 whereby to providean air passage through the top of the case. A circular gallerysimulating part or cat-Walk I8 composed-of sheet metal is secured to theouter surface of casing I2 adjacent the upper Light may beintermittently exposed or flashed through openings 20, as willhereinafter appear, for enhancing the lighthouse effect. The casing isprovided with a main window opening 22 having a transparent cover 24which may be composed of any suitable material such as glass, mica,Cellophane, etc. Casing l0 surrounds the exhibitor apparatus illustratedin Fig. 3 whereby to conceal the latter except at the window 22 throughwhich the rotary cylinder is visible for observation.

As illustrated in Fig. 3a the apparatus comprises a frame 28. Said framecomprises a base consisting, as here shown of cross strips 28 havingdown-turned. end portions 39 to which ledge members 32 are welded. Thebottom edge of easing l2 rests upon said ledge members for holding saidcasing above the top of the support on. which the exhibitor ispositioned to provide an air passage at the bottom of the. casingcompletely therearound. The side of the frame: comprises. as here showna vertically inclined strip 34 welded at its lower end to one of thebase strips 28, and an inverted U-shaped strip 36 welded at its lowerends to the other of said base strips. Strip 34 is provided with ahorizontally extended portion 38 which crosses the closed end 48 ofmember 36 and is welded thereto. The frame thus provided is rigid andstable and yet is of light weight. A U-shaped frame member comprising ametal strip 42 having lower and upper refiexed portions 44 and 65respectively is secured to the base of frame 26 by fastening lower endportion 44 to the intermediate part of one of, strips 28. A similarframe member 46 is similarly secured to the top of. frame 26.

A. sheet metal shield 48 is welded to strip 42 in position to partiallysurround electric; lamp and air heater 58. Said lamp is mounted insocket 52 secured in any suitable way to the base of the frame. Sheetmetal disk 52' is: secured to the upper reflexed portion 45 of strip 42above shield 48. It will beobserved that shield 48 is approximatelysemi-cylindrical and thatdisk 52 has a smaller diameter than that of thecylinder to which shield 48 is contoured thereby providing a passage 54at the upper end of said cylinder; A metal spindle 58 projects upwardlythroughstrip portion 48 and disk 52' and is. ad.- justably secured inposition by a nut 58 which engages the screw threaded portion of saidspindle. Said spindle has an upper pointed end 68 on which the invertedcup bearing 82, composed preferably of glass, is engaged for supportingthe rotary exhibit member 64. The assembly illustrated in Fig. 4 andjust described is dupiicated at the top of frame 26, but on a smallerscale, the parts of said assembly being substantially the same as thatjust described in connection with Fig. 4 and therefore designated by thesame reference numerals with the letter :1 added to each of saidnumerals.

The rotary exhibitor member 64 comprises a cylinder 88 open at its lowerend and attached at its upper end to the sheet metal rim 68 of the vanedsheet metal motive disk member 10. Disk ill is provided with a centralaperture 12 through which cup bearing 62 projects, and the marginalportion of said disk adjacent said aperture rests on a peripheral flange14 formed on bearing member 62, whereby to rotatably support ex.-hibitor 84 on the pointed end 68 of spindle 56. An important feature ofthe invention resides in forming the spindle 58 and the cup bearing 82of materials having the same degree of hardness. For this purposespindle 58 is made of steel tempered so that pointed end. 60 has thesame degree of hardness as glass cup 62, whereby the tendency of thepointed end of the spindle to form a depression in the contiguoussurface of the cup bearing or conversely the tendency of the cup bearingby engagement with the pointed end of the spindle to dull said pointedend is sub- 2,151,sss

stantially decreased, if not entirely eliminated whereby to provideanti-friction bearing of long life.

In accordance with the present invention provision is made for adjustingthe speed of rotation of'cylinder 64. For this important purpose disk 10is provided with a plurality of radially extending vanes which may bedisposed in different angular relations as indicated for example in Fig.8 from which it will be noted that a vane 16a has a different angularposition than other vanes 16. The construction of disk it), however, issuch that vane 16a and an additional number of similar vanes may beadjusted to other angular positions. For this purpose said disk iscomposed of bendable sheet metal and several of the vanes, say the vanes18a are left free from attachment to rim. 68 while the other vanes, saythe vanes. 16, are attached at their outer ends to said rim. It will bereadily understood that the angular position of vanes a, may be adjustedby twisting them at their line of juncture with the intermediatecentral. disk portion 18 and that by reason of the soft and bendablequalities of the metal of which the disk is constructed said vanesremain in adjusted position. It will be understood that the speed ofrotation of cylinder 84 may thus be regulated since the air currentwhich impinges on vanes Itatends to rotate the cylindrical member in adirection opposite to the direction of rotation effected by the aircurrents which strike the other vanes H5.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 9 to 11 of the drawings, thecylindrical member 85 will now be described in greater detail. As hereshown said member is composed of suitable sheet material, such as paper,and comprises an outer layer 88 which is preferably opaque-and an innerlight permeable layer 82, which is preferably translucent but which maybe transparent if desired. Layer 88 is provided with letter or otheropenings as indicated at 84, 86, and 88 through which the light fromlamp 50 may pass for illuminating the letter or other openings. Strips92 of reticulated or open mesh sheet fabric may be secured to the innerface of layer 80 over the openings therein, as clearly shown in Fig. 11.This is primarily for the purpose of diffusing the light which passesthrough said openings and also for the purpose ofholding portions ofsaid layer 88 in position at said openings which may be required inconnection with the openings for certain letters, where a part of theletter as, for example, the central part of the letter A, is completelyseparated from the edge of layer 88 which defines the remaining portionof such letter. Strips 92 may be secured to layer 86 in any suitablemanner as by an adhesive. It will be understood that layer 80 maybecomposed of panel sections 94 of different colors, said sections beingsecured together at overlapping adjacent marginal edge portions thereof.Inner layer 82 may be composed of light permeable material such asparchmentized paper or oiled paper and may be composedof sections onefor each panel section 94 of outer layer 80. The panel sections of layer82 are preferably somewhat narrower than the companion panel sections 94and said inner layer or inner panel sections are secured to the innersurface of said outer layer along longitudinally spaced lines indicatedat' 96 in Fig, 9, preferably by means of an adhesive, whereby thecomposite layer while generally flat tends to curl into a cylindricalformation. Soft and pliable thin metal strips 98 are disposed at theopposite "side edges'of member 66 and extend longitudinally of thelatter in which position they are held by and folded over portions I ofouter layer 80 (Fig; These metal strips are readily bent intocylindrical formation and tend to hold member 66 in such formation andfurthermore facilitatereforming of members 66 in the event ofdeformation thereof. Thus member 66 may be readily formed into acylinder from the initial.- ly fiat composite laminated -material justdescribed and may be readily attached to motive disk 'Hl'either'permanently or removably by any suitable means as for example by anadhesive or such fastening elements as rivets, paper clips, staples,etc. The removable attachment of said cylindrical member to itscompanion motive disk is preferred and for this purpose it is merelynecessary to clip the opposite marginal end portions I02 of member 66together in overlapping relation by means of paper clips which may alsobe utilized for fastening said cylindrical member to rim 68 'of disk 10,two or three at spaced points as indicated at llle'in Fig. 3.

The operation of the exhibitor embodying the present invention and asdescribed above is believed to be obvious. It will be noticed that inthe flow of air induced by the heat of the lamp the current of air isguided upwardly by member 48 toward motive disk ill for a substantialperipheral portion of said disk and its companion cylindrical member 66and that disk 52' substantially prevents direct flow of the current ofair to the intermediate portion E8 of disk 10 and cooperates with member48 to direct the current of air against the vanes of the disk forsubstantially the fulllength ofv the latter whereby to increase thetorque which effects rotation of the disk. Member 48 is preferablypainted black thereby absorbing some of the heat radiated by the lamp5!] with minimum reflection of light and further to radiate some of theabsorbed heat and thereby to contribute to the flow of air and to induce'a -more even flow than can be obtained merely by the heating of the airsolely by lamp 50, This arrangement tends to reduce if not to entirelyeliminate fluctuations in the flow of air induced by the heating thereofas it passes throughcylinder 64 for action upon motive disk Uppercylinder 64a is provided with a plurality of circumferentially spacedelongated openings or slits I06 with the result that as cylinder 64arotatesabout lamp 50a there is obtained an effect' similarxto that of anelectric flasher, or in other words, an 'eifect similar to that which isobtained by a flasher lamp by intermittently pass ing current throughthe lamp as under the control of a thermally responsive switch devicewhich periodically makes and breaks the circuit through the lamp. Ashere shown, the flasher provided at the upper part of the casing l2 mayI be used per se or in conjunction with the exhibitor 64 visible throughcasing opening 22, and conversely said last mentioned exhibitor may beutilized without the flasher provided by cylinder Thus it is seen thatthe construction herein shown and described is well adapted to accomanyparticular purpose for which the invention may be adapted. It will alsobe understood that any suitable material may be utilized instead ofmetal in various parts of the apparatus, as for example in the casing,spindle for the bearing, heat absorber and radiator, etc., as will bereadily understood by those skilled in the art. Therefore, I do not wishto be limited precisely to the construction herein shown or describedexcept as may be required by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage for theflow of air, a lamp associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorcomprising a coated metal member heated by said lamp and in turn alsoheating the air in said casing and thereby at least partially inducingthe flow thereof in the casin a frame within said casing comprising abase, means for supporting said heat absorber comprising a membercarrying said absorber and upstanding from said base, and a cylindricalmember rotatably mounted in said casing and having a motive elementoperatively connected thereto and responsive to said flow of airrotating said member.

2. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, a lamp associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorheated by said lamp and in turn also heating the air in said casing andthereby at least partially inducing the flow thereof in the casing, acylindrical member rotatably mounted in said casing and having a motiveelement operatively connected thereto and responsive to said flow of airfor rotating said member, said heat absorber and radiator comprising asheet metal member partially surrounding said lamp and extending in thedirection of air flow, and means at one end of said sheet metal membercooperating therewith for directing the current of air to said motiveelement.

3. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, a lamp associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorheated by said lamp and in turn also heating the air in said casing andthereby at least partially inducing the flow thereof, in the casing, acylindrical member rotatably mounted in said casing and having a motiveelement operatively connected thereto and responsive to said flow of airfor rotating said member, said motive element comprising a in turn alsoheating the air in said casing and thereby at least partially inducingthe flow thereof in the casing, and a cylindrical member rotatablymounted in said casing and having a motive element operatively connectedthereto and responsive to said flow of air for rotating said member,said heat absorber and radiator comprising a sheet metal member at leastpartially surrounding said lamp and positioned between the latter andthe wall of said cylindrical memher and extending longitudinally of thelatter, said sheet metal member being coated with black paint.

5. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, a lamp associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorheated by said lamp and in turn also heating the air in said casing andthereby at least partially inducing the flow thereof in the casing, acylindrical member rotatably mounted in said casing and having a motiveelement operatively connected thereto and responsive to said flow of airfor rotating said member, said motive element comprising a disk disposedat right angles to the axis of said cylindrical member and provided withradially extending vanes, said heat absorber and radiator comprising asheet metal member partially surrounding said lamp and positionedbetween the latter and the wall of said cylindrical member and extendinglongitudinally of the latter, and a disk in the line of air flow betweenthe lamp and said motive disk for substantially preventing the flow ofair directly to the central portion of said motive disk and cooperatingwith said sheet metal member to direct the air current against saidvanes over a substantial length thereof.

6. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, a frame within said casing, a lamp associated with saidcasing to heat the air for inducing the flow thereof in said casing, anda cylindrical member rotatably mounted in said casing and having amotive element operatively connected thereto and responsive to said flowof air for rotating said member, said casing having an opening and saidcylindrical member having a translucent wall portion and arranged torotate about said lamp and past said opening for exposure of said wallportion to view as it rotates past said opening, said frame comprising aplurality of vertical strips disposed in spaced relation, and meanscarried by said strips for supporting said casing.

7. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, a lamp associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a cylindrical member rotatablymounted in said casing and having a motive element operatively connectedthereto and responsive to said flow of air for rotating said members andmeans for supporting said cylindrical member for rotation comprising aspindle having a pointed end and a bearing in engagement with thepointed end of the spindle, said bearing having substantially the samedegree of hardness as said pointed end of the spindle. V

8. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, a lamp associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a cylindrical member rotatablymounted in said casing and having a motive element operatively connectedthereto and responsive to said flow of air for rotating said members andmeans for supporting said cylindrical member for rotation comprising ametal spindle having a pointed end and a cup-shaped bearing inengagement with the pointed end of the spindle, said bearing havingsubstantially the same degree of hardness as said pointed end of thespindle.

' 9. In a'changeable exhibitor of the class described in which acylindrical member is rotated by a current of air, said cylindricalmember comprising an initially flat layer of suitable sheet materialbent into cylindrical form and provided with a soft and pliable metalstrip secured thereto for facilitating the formation of said mem herfrom said flat layer into its cylindrical form.

10. In a changeable exhibitor of the class described in which acylindrical member is rotated by a current of air, said cylindricalmember comprising in initially substantially flat form an outer layer ofsuitable sheet material and an inner layer secured to said outer layerat longitudinally spaced points, said inner layer between said pointsbeing shorter than said outer layer between the same points whereby saidlayers tend to curl about an axis disposed at the inner sides thereof. V

11. In a changeable exhibitor of the class described in which acylindrical member is rotated by a current of air, said cylindricalmember comprising an initially fiat layer of suitable sheet materialbent into cylindrical form, said layer having openings therethrough anda strip of re-' ticulated sheet material disposed over said openings.

12. In a changeable exhibitor of the class described in which acylindrical member is rotated by a current of air, said cylindricalmember comprising an initially flat layer of suitable sheet materialbent intocylindrical form, said layer having openings therethrough, astrip of reticulated sheet material disposed over said openings and alayer of light-permeable material secured to the inner surface of saidfirst layer over said openings.

13. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, means associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorcomposed of metal coated with black paint heated by said heating meansand in turn also heating the air in said casing and thereby at leastpartially inducing the flow thereof in the casing, and a memberrotatably mounted in said casing and having a motive elementoperatively. connected thereto and responsive to said flow of air forrotating said member.

14:. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, means associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorheated by said heating means and in turn also heating the air in saidcasing and thereby at least partially inducing the flow thereof in thecasing, a member rotatably mounted in said casing and having a motiveelement operatively connected thereto and responsive to said flow of airfor rotating said member, said heat absorber and radiator comprising amember partially surrounding said heating means and extending in thedirection of air flow, and means at one end of said last mentionedmember cooperating therewith for directing the current of air to saidmotive element.

' 15. A changeable exhibitor comprising a casing providing a passage forthe flow of air, means associated with said casing to heat the air forinducing the flow thereof in said casing, a heat absorber and radiatorheated by said heating means and in turn also heating the air in, saidcasing and thereby at least partially inducing the flow thereof in thecasing, a cylindrical member rotatably mounted in said casing and havinga motive element operatively connected thereto and responsive to saidflow of air for rotating said member, said motive element comprising adisk disposed at right angles to the axis of said cylindrical member andprovided with radially extending vanes, said heat absorber and radiatorcomprising a metal member coated with black 10 paint and partiallysurrounding said heating means and positioned between the latter and theWall of said cylindrical member and extending longitudinally of thelatter, a member supporting said radiator and provided with a partextending transversely thereof beyond the end of the latter which isnearer said motive element, and a disk carried by said last mentionedpart for directing the current of air to the vanes of said motiveelement.

JACOB I. ROBIN.

